When will load shedding in South Africa come to an end?

Is South Africa facing an energy crisis? Eskom says the situation is under control. However, the large number of citizens present at the Green Peace Rainbow Warrior campaign in Port Elizabeth shows that people are not happy with the current energy situation. The government’s temporary solution to the energy shortage has been switching off power to certain areas at scheduled times. Most of us know this as ‘load shedding’. Green Peace proposes a solution to these issues centred on renewable energy projects, but Eskom and the government say that coal and nuclear energy are the answer.

Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior docked in Port Elizabeth on Sunday the 22nd of February to fight the South African government’s proposed nuclear plans. The government has proposed the construction of a nuclear plant in the Eastern Cape as the solution to South Africa’s current energy shortage. Greenpeace argues that this is not the solution and will only cause more problems for the country, they argue that renewable energy is the only long term solution.

Report by Rhea MacDonald and Louise Fuller